We recently connected with Iesha Price and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Iesha thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
I was fortunate enough to have two sets of parents. My biological mother- Helen Holston and step father- Archie Holston Sr. raised me and my siblings Arshanese & Archie Holston Jr. My parents laid down a very solid foundation for our family structure. I could easily say that I came from a broken home; my mother had me at a very young age, born out of wedlock and was raised by my step dad. Despite those things, they did an outstanding job of working together as a team and making sure we were raised to understand important family values: love for God & others, kindness, what it means to work hard for things you want, be respectful and being trustworthy come to mind. To this day; my siblings and I reminisce about how my step dad would have us dragging tree branches down to the fire pit he’d built. We lived on about 6 or 7 acres of land and we all pitched in to rake the yard, mow the lawn, help in the garden, prune the hedges etc. As a kid; dragging those branches down the hill felt like an eternity and like such a waste of time. As an adult; I get it. They were teaching us resilience and responsibility. They both worked opposite schedules; which made spending time with them together very difficult yet, they always managed to make sure we ate meals as a family. My mother created a family night so that we could lip sync and just be silly together. They really wanted home to be a refugee from the world. My mother would always say, “If you can’t get peace anywhere else, you should have peace in your home”. They made sure we spent time with family members on both sides; my favorite was getting to spend weekends with my aunt Brenda Sue Montfort and my cousins Shantelise & Sharima Price. My mother would also keep all the cousins on hers and my step father’s side of the family. For me, this also included getting to spend weekends and summers with my second family (my step mother- Carolyn Price, my biological father- Arthur Price, and my siblings Carleesha & Arthavious Price). The set up was that; my parents would drop me off at my great grandmother MaSweetie’s house to wait for my dad to pick me up. That in of itself was precious to me because I remember getting real life lessons from her before she passed on. She was a former house slave and would tell me stories about her experience in those times. I remember her telling me about her Papa whom was blessed to have been able to acquire some land of his own; which was a big deal back then. She would tell me about a little girl she was responsible for and the chores she carried out. She showed me a picture once of her standing over the kitchen sink of the family that owned her family and I can remember the look on her face as she posed for the camera. I saw so much of the burden we as black women have to carry in that photo but she looked strong in her faith. She taught me spirituality and how to maneuver around people seeking oppression. If my step father had been a selfish man and wasn’t the caring man he is; I might not have ever spent that time with my great grandmother or my second family. I tell him all the time that I appreciate the way he goes about being a father to his kids but especially me. He took me in as his own without hesitation and still kept in mind, the importance of spending time with my biological farther which to be honest, is often rare in the African American community. Both my fathers were jacks of all trades and both could draw/paint exceptionally well which is why l believe I’m drawn towards the artsy world. I looked up to my parents and saw the hard work they all put into their marriages. I took those values into my own marriage/parenting and even use what I’ve learned from watching their work ethics, in my career. In my opinion, good parenting starts with good family values; a strong foundation where you have a firm ground to stand on. I believe it makes you resilient and flexible so that when things happen in life as they will, you’re able to maneuver around them. I believe I’m the woman I am today because of how strong my parents were in the 24 years they were married. What my parents did and still do right is being very present in our lives through the good, bad and the ugly. I’ll forever be grateful for being blessed enough to have had the upbringing that I did by both sets of parents.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Iesha Price and I’m an award winning indie producer/art director in Atlanta, GA. I have a BFA in Media Production and I’m the creator of Merry Price Productions LLC. My company stands for freedom of choice, creativity, and diversity. As a producer, I want to change the way we treat & view each other in the film industry and in the world. My journey to working in film has definitely not been an easy road. After serving time in the Army; I returned to the civilian world, worked at a homeowner’s association for 8 years and wanted a more fulfilling career. I quit my job and went back to school in 2014- juggling a career change & raising 3 kids (Sean, Danica & Nyaliah). After my first film class I fell in love with the process of filmmaking. I worked on a ton of unpaid indie projects before I ever landed my first paid gig. My film and television career began in office and art assistant work for ESPN & BET live events, features such as Summer Night & St. Agatha on Netflix, television series such as Ozark, Prank Encounters & Lovecraft Country. I’ve also done work as a production secretary for Dear Evan Hansen, The Tomorrow War & Cobra Kai. I’m moving into more coordinating work on union productions and art directing on indie films. My producing debut was a short written by Michele Olson called Residence 906- a drama/thriller crewed up by 50 incredibly talented women and 4 men (all volunteers- because, Girl Power)! It screened at the Plaza Theatre for the 50 Foot Film Festival on Halloween Eve in 2018 and again at the Amelia Island Film Festival 2021. We won 7 awards for this project directed by Heather Hutton.
Part of my journey was overcoming the fear of stepping into the unknown and judging myself against where others were in their careers. I was a guest on a podcast in 2018 called FEARS OF A NO-NAME (Blank)- hosted by my friend and actress; Virginia Vogt where I disclosed my fear of failure. I shared how I’d get to a certain point and used excuses to let fear consume my thoughts and hold me back despite my work ethics and drive to succeed. The lesson I’ve learned along the way is that you can’t measure your success based on what others say or do around you. The minute you start doing that; it creates self doubt, self esteem issues, and ultimately self sabotage. I wanted to start my own production company to push myself past those obstacles. The inspiration behind Merry Price Productions came about really because of my love for the 1964 Fantasy/Musical Classic- Mary Poppins. It was one of my favorite childhood movies and one that I still love and feel such a strong connection to- I mean, who doesn’t love the magical nanny that flies in out of nowhere to put a broken home back together again and disappears when the job is all done? She embodies the very meaning of being kind to one another which is exactly what I’m all about. I relate the underlying tone of the film to how Merry Price Productions should operate; like Mary Poppins– who was positive, professional, got things done yet never quite acknowledged her uniquely strange and magical powers– I pride myself in being genuine, organized and professional so that things run smoothly during production, movie making magic and all!
My business has grown in resources rather than the financial stability that I wish it had. Working in film as an indie producer means I’m always seeking funding for potential projects that my filmmakers would like to produce and distribute. I’ve typically funded projects out of my own pocket which has been pretty limiting in what I can provide. I’ve had to jump through many hurtles from trying to figure out what lane I fit as an African American woman in a very male driven industry, becoming a divorced single parent (trying to continue navigating the industry and also providing for my family), and a struggle that we can all relate to- surviving the COVID pandemic. Despite these obstacles, I’m determined to strive towards my goals and become successful in doing what I truly love. I’ve joining forces with the director/producer of Residence 906 and her partner at their company Imperial Savage; created by Taylor Owenby. Our current venture include 4 projects showcased at the Cannes Film Festival and the American Film Market. You can find out more information about these projects at www.imperialsavage.com. I’m currently working on restructuring my company brand and searching for the right partners. I’m ready to take my producing career to the next level and hope to own a studio of my own someday.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
To be honest, I found my love for the film industry later in life. I was one of those kids who never really had a passion for anything. I just kind of went with the flow of life and decided to join the military since I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do after I graduated high school; but I knew I wanted to venture out into the world on my own as soon as possible. I ended up going overseas and once my tour was over; I decided to return home, still didn’t have a clue as to what I would pursue. I went to school for massage therapy but wasn’t really passionate about it. I ended up working a 9-5 for an HOA like you do when raising a family. I became very unhappy with my life and thought if I went back to school for something that I use to enjoy doing as a kid (for me it was writing songs, singing and dancing) maybe I’d find what drives me. So I majored in sound & audio design. To my surprise, film classes were required to graduate. I took my first film class and was immediately hooked. I remember my teacher- Jason “theRodge” Rodgers saying, “Don’t think that you’re going to graduate from here and jump right into a job. That’s not the way the film industry works. If you really want to be successful, you have to get out there and start networking now.” I took that information and decided to start doing some background acting on tv shows, movies etc. I thought that would be the easiest way to get on an actual set and see if this new direction would be something I could pursue. I loved it! I use to watch the crew members and see if I could determine their positions based on what I was learning in school. It made me want to be one of the crew even more. I eventually got the nerves to start asking people what they did and how could I do what they were doing. I also started injecting myself into my film friend’s school projects. I worked on an award winning thesis project directed by Vashmere Valentine called The Wish & The Wisp and ended up receiving production design credits for the project which peaked my initial interest for working in the art world. I ventured into indie films outside of school. I was doing any and everything I could to gain experience whether it was background acting, many unpaid PA gigs in different departments, I started sound mixing on film sets thinking that maybe I could still do something similar to my degree but I really took a liking to the art department. I shifted all of my energy towards working in the art department as an art PA and landed my first long term union gig on the HBO Plus tv show Lovecraft Country under the genius production design by Kalina Ivanov.
Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?
Above all, I mostly wish I had a better since of direction as I started my creative journey. I feel like I would be much further along in my career than I am now if I only knew what I wanted to do sooner. It would have saved some unnecessary time on set for sure; however, the experiences I’ve had have been invaluable when it comes to understanding the full scope of filmmaking. I have a solid understanding of what it takes from each department to make a film happen from start to completion. I just might have avoided doing so many unpaid gigs before I started earning an income in the industry. In hindsight, I don’t regret anything that’s happened in my life in general because I believe things happen how and when they do for a reason. As far as resources are concerned; I think what could have been more helpful for me is easier access to film projects, especially in Atlanta GA where you HAVE to network in order to find union gigs specifically. They aren’t just going to hire you because you’re local. What I typically find helpful, is being involved in groups like Facebook, there is a website called Georgia Help Wanted Hotline where they post projects currently filming in Georgia. As far as producing is concerned, I’ve been trying to come up with a very specific networking event that helps bring angel investors, distributors and indie filmmakers together easier. I’m interested in making the process of finding projects and funding easier to navigate so if there’s anybody reading this that wants to collab; feel free to reach out! You can always reach me on my website at www.merrypriceproductions.com or via email at [email protected]. I want to say thank you to Canvasrebel for this interview, I’m truly honored to have been apart of your selection. ¸¸.· ´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨) (¸.·´ (¸.·’Have A Merry Day!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.merrypriceproductions.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iesha.price/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IeshaLP/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ieshamerrypriceproductions/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/merrypricepro1
- Other: IMDb- https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8043730/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Image Credits
Linda Sayseng, Angelica Perez-Castro